


A Love Returned

by littleshadowlight



Category: Labyrinth (1986)
Genre: F/M, Reincarnation, Romance, True Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-05
Updated: 2017-09-16
Packaged: 2018-12-11 09:27:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 19,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11711568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littleshadowlight/pseuds/littleshadowlight
Summary: True love never goes away, even in death. It always returns.





	1. The Loss of the Queen

**Author's Note:**

> The first fan fiction I've written in several years. Please enjoy.
> 
> Labyrinth (c) The Jim Henson Company

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first fan fiction I have written in several years. Please enjoy! 
> 
> More to come soon.
> 
> Labyrinth (c) The Jim Henson Company

The queen was dead and so too with her any hope for the future. The king lay on his bed, broken. She had been the love of his life, the only one he had given certain powers to. They were meant to have been together forever, which may have not felt long at all, for time would fly with their happiness. 

Jareth was unable to stop the tears, mourning for his queen. She had been everything to him, his very reason for living. And she, oh she had loved him and had found joy in his labyrinth. Unlike the others, she had understood him. With her he had been happy and she with him.

She should still be alive by his side and carrying within her womb their child. He could remember her hoping that the babe would have fair hair like him. A son or a daughter, he cared not which. All that matter was that it was to have been their child, their sweet and beautiful child. But it was not to be. Not now.

The goblin king felt in his heart a great pit of sadness that would never turn to happiness ever again. But lingering to was anger. So much anger. They had done this. They had killed his queen. And with that action, the humans in the Aboveground had also sealed off any alliance with the Underground. Never again would Jareth allow for the secrets and knowledge of his world to be known. He had been warned by the high council of the kingdoms before this mess that the two worlds were to remain separate, that humans were a vile race that could not be trusted. 

He sat up, managing to wipe away his tears on a white linen sleeve. On the bedside table was a red leather book, the pages empty. His queen had given it to him before her premature demise for she knew of his love of storytelling and singing. He could write his own stories and music down, she had proposed to him. Jareth reached for the book and held it close, taking in the fresh scent of leather. 

True love never truly dies. It comes back, no matter what. Even if takes a long time, years to do so. Surely the love he and his queen felt would return. His queen would come back to him. He knew.

He opened the book, turning to the first blank page and began to sketch in his mind before putting ink to paper the story, the map that would return his love to him.


	2. The Beginning Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter. Enjoy! 
> 
> More to come soon.

“Give me the child.” The teenaged Sarah Williams began to act out the part of the heroine from her favorite fairy tale. 

The story from which she quoted, The Labyrinth, had come into her possession a year ago. She had found the leather bound book squeezed into a forgotten corner of an old bookshop her father had taken her to as a way of calming her down from the shock of the finalization of her parents’ divorce and the birth of her baby brother, Toby. Her father’s plan had worked for she had needed something to latch on to during this tender time in her life. Still, Sarah recalled how when she had found the neglected book in the store and had brought it up to the register, the cashier had seemed so confused, as if the book had mysteriously appeared in the store’s inventory. The only thing truly mysterious about the book was that it had no author nor any publication date or copyright. But that was all buried under the young woman’s sheer enjoyment of the story. 

Indeed, she had come to love the story so much she hardly went anywhere without it, caring it close to her heart. Sarah had lost herself in the fantastical world of The Labyrinth. She had even begun to feel like she didn’t fit into her reality at all, as if she belonged in the world of her story, the world of goblins, wishes, and magic.

As she acted, she noticed a barn owl clutching to small stone monument in the park before her. She had seen the owl several times during her visits to the park, making her assume that the bird had found refuge there. Indeed, she was glad to see him today, giving her something breathing to project her vision of the villain from her story on to. Today the owl seemed to actually be watching her, intent on listening to her every word.

Sarah stumbled on a line, that tricky line that she could never remember. From the sleeve of her costume dress, she retrieved the book, flipping to the last chapter where she read the line out loud. “You have no power over me.”

She sighed, disappointed in herself that despite several times of acting out the story, that that particular line still slipped her mind. The sound of thunder and then the ringing bell of a clock snapped her out of her theatrical moment. It was seven o’clock and she was meant to have been home an hour ago to baby sit her baby brother while her father and step mother went out for a date that evening. Angry at herself for losing track of time and knowing that this would be the prelude to another argument with her step mother, the girl called to her dog and began to run towards her home with the heavy rain of the storm chasing after them. But little did she know that the owl from the park also followed her.

\------

There she was at last, the one that he had been seeking after for countless years. He knew it immediately upon seeing her. Though his book had exchanged hands several times, his plan had finally bore fruit. He had first seen her the moment she had opened his book and how lovely she was. Identical in every way to her, his queen. The only difference was that she was once again a girl, a teenager, and he was grown. But he couldn’t help his feelings, his heart feeling the emotion he hadn’t felt in too many years, love. Yes, this girl was her, his queen, come back at last.

In the form of an owl, he watched Sarah act out a scene from his book. It would seem that she had come to believe in his caricature of himself that he had written to mimic what the humans of the Aboveground had come to believe. The story, while his own, was in truth what the humans had believed, how he, a wicked Goblin King, had come to fall in love with a pure young woman, who he had enchanted to wish her baby brother away so that they could be together forever. A story that the humans had spread after his queen’s death all those years ago. But Jareth in his retelling had added in some details that only _she_ would be able to see.

He heard a clock ring out that it was seven in the evening. He watched Sarah run with a dog in tow. He took off from the monument just as a harsh sheet of rain began to fall. After following the girl to her house, Jareth landed on the branch of a large tree that overlooked the house. He had no plans to see her tonight. No. He would wait until she was grown and take her back, help her remember her past life with him. But his queen had always had a habit of surprising him, ever since he had first met her.

He could still remember their first meeting all those years ago.

\------

_“You will be of age soon,” a grim old goblin reminded him. “You are expected to find a wife.”_

_“A wife? No thank you, Yoyo.” The teenaged king hissed back at the goblin that seemed to serve as his keeper. He brushed a lock of long blonde hair behind his ear. He didn’t have time to be looking for a wife. Besides all the girls that would be suitable as his wife were silly things who played dress up and with toys. Not an ounce of intelligence in them. “Can’t I choose a wife when I want to?” Which could be never, Jareth thought._

_The goblin glared at him, angry for what must have been the thousandth time that Jareth got his name wrong._

_“It’s Pogo, Your Highness. And as king, you will be expected to forge alliances to protect the people from war and famine. Marriage is a secure way to do this.”_

_Jareth sighed and leaned back in his throne, legs over one of the arms. Pogo was right, of course he was. But Jareth had little interest in marrying. Besides he was still new at being king. Sometimes he hated growing up._

_“The council will be holding a ball tonight to foster relations with the rulers of the Aboveground. There will be plenty of candidates for your bride there. You will attend and be on your best behavior.” Pogo would not compromise with his king on this. Jareth groaned out loudly, hating being treated like a child._

_Life wasn’t fair for him. But if life wasn’t fair for him, then he too could make it not fair for poor Pogo and his potential bride. Jareth grinned as a plan came to his mind. He moved to sit up properly in the throne and looked down at the elder goblin._

_“I’ll behave tonight, Bingo.” He promised, purposely agitating the goblin by calling him the wrong name again. Yet, Pogo was more focused on the grin on the young king’s face, which he didn’t like. “However, any potential brides for me that you, and no doubt the council will wish to select for me, must pass my test.”_

_“A test? And what do you have in mind, Sire?” Pogo dared to ask, not liking where this was going._

_“She must solve my labyrinth, using only her wit and strength.” Jareth declared._

_“Solve the labyrinth?! But Sire, that’s impossible!” Pogo sputtered. Even those that lived within the walls of Jareth’s kingdom had a hard time navigating it, much less solving it._

_“If she is to be my queen, she must understand my kingdom and me.” The Goblin King pointed out. It was a logical defense, Pogo had to admit._

_Defeated, the elder goblin relented. “Very well.”_

_Jareth’s grin widened. Now whose life wasn’t fair?_


	3. The Wish

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter and so soon after posting Chapter 2. I've just been on a roll with my writing.
> 
> Thank you so much for the kudos and the bookmark. I really appreciate it.
> 
> Please feel free to comment. I do like to know if you all like my writing and/or if there's something I need to improve on in my writing.
> 
> Enjoy and more to come soon.

Anger. He could sense the emotion thick in the air from her aura. Even though he was outside the house, he knew. It was as if their souls were connected, but he doubted she realized that. Nor had she realized the gift she had been given with her new life. 

Jareth had wanted to leave. Now was not the time to see her and yet it was hard for him to leave Sarah in a crisis.

“Someone save me! Someone take me away from this awful place!” He heard her voice. An angry young woman, Jareth knew, and yet he wanted to help her. But what could he do? The rules were clear for those travelers in the different worlds. One could not do anything save observe unless invited. He was no help in his avian form. All he could do was watch and listen. While it was hard for him, the rational voice in his mind told him that it was for the best. Sarah was not ready to see him yet, to come back to him and remember, to be his queen once more. She was a teenager working through her life’s problems as they had both done before.

He would stay a few moments longer before leaving. He could only hope that she would work through this herself for he could not reach her.

The rain picked up from the storm. There was lightning and thunder that seemed to mimic Sarah’s anger. 

Minutes passed and he felt her anger weaken. He was glad for that. Now Jareth could leave her in peace and come back, continuing to watch over her until she was ready. 

“I wish…I wish…” 

_Don’t!_ He implored her. _Don’t say the words. You’re not ready. You’re not…_

He knew that his subjects were listening to her too. The words would draw their attention.

“I can bear it no longer! Goblin King. Goblin King! Wherever you may be, take this child of mine far away from me!” Harsh words and yet Jareth had a moment of relief. Those were not the right words. Good. Now then…

The feeling of anger swelled in Sarah. 

“I wish…I wish...” There was a pause and then finally the words that Jareth did not want to hear. Not yet. “I wish the goblins would come and take you away, right now.” It was his invitation. 

_Oh Sarah, what have you done?_ Jareth thought. He had no choice. Their story had begun over again.  
\-----  
_She was dressed in a thick gown of mother of pearl. Although she was dressed appropriately, Sarah felt out of place at this ball. But the young woman knew that she could not get out of it. She was there because of the duty she was forced to hold to her family. As the daughter of a lord, certain things were expected of her, including marrying to someone suitable. But at her ripe age of fifteen, marriage was the furthest thing from her mind, but it was the first thing on her stepmother’s mind._

_It was true that she and her stepmother, Lady Irene, did not always see eye to eye and in truth, Sarah resented Irene for coming into her life at a tender time and giving birth to her baby half brother. Despite this, Sarah knew that it was in her best interests to find someone that she could love as her husband. It was better if her and her future spouse knew each other, instead of it being completely arranged, just as it had been for her father and mother. Lady Irene would allow her this, hoping genuinely that her step daughter could find love, just as she had found with Sarah’s father._

_The girl kept to the safety of the back of the ballroom. She could see her father, Lord Robert, talking to some mayor that was round and green with a great protruding nose that even the beast’s white mask could not hide. Sarah supposed that she should be honored that she and her family had been invited to this masquerade to foster relations between her world of logic and sense, the Aboveground, and the world of magic and nonsense, the Underground. Humans and magical beings had interacted before in a few circumstances, which had become stories of hope for relations between the two worlds. But now it seemed that there was a want for both worlds to be at peace with each other. A peace could give those in the Underground safe passage into the Aboveground without the need to be invited and humans would be able to travel to the Underground to gain knowledge and the secrets to immortality and everlasting beauty._

_She saw plenty of teenagers around her, running about. They were humans and…other. She could not quite identify some of the Underground races, despite being taught about several of them by one of her tutors. But most of the children there seemed to superficial, playing a game at being polite in order to advance their own selves and their families._

_Sarah put a cup to her lips and drank the strange juice in it. From the old laws, she nor anyone else from the Aboveground would have ate or drank any of the food or drinks here. The old laws had been careful to state that any consumption of food or drink in the Underground would make the humans who came there belong to the creature that had given it to them. However, with the peace negotiations, this old law had been broken as a signal of good will._

_“Is it good?” A voice asked her. She looked up to see a boy about her age standing before her. While humanoid in form, Sarah knew he was an Underground child. There was something ethereal about him, something not quite human. He was positively enchanting to look at. He was handsome with long blonde hair and mismatched eyes. She couldn’t say that she was instantly in love with him, but he had piqued her interest._

_She moved the cup away from her lips._

_“Yes. We don’t have something like this where I’m from. I believe it’s a juice from a fruit you call a peach. I never knew that such a thing could grow in the Underground.” She responded. Peach. It was a nice flavor, she had to admit, and she found herself favoring it._

_“Your first time here, I take it. We have an assortment of fruits here. Peaches tend to grow near my realm. Perhaps another time you could try one.” The boy said, finding himself wanting to continue having a conversation with her. This girl was not like the other silly ones racing about the dance floor at the ball. She had dignity, which impressed him._

_“I’d like that.” Sarah smiled at him before going to introduce herself. “I’m Sarah of house Williams.” She doubted that he had heard of her house. While he father was a lord, he was not a king or a duke or even a count. Her family’s lands were small compared to others. She was no princess. In truth, she felt like her family was at the bottom of the totem pole when it came to nobility._

_But if he had heard of her house, she doubted the information would be good. Sarah knew that she would always be haunted by the scandal of her mother, Lady Linda, leaving her and her father to run off with some actor, of all people._

_Despite the shame of her mother’s decision, Sarah put on a brave face. She was not her mother. If only people could see that._

_“I’m Jareth, the Goblin King and Lord of the Labyrinth. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sarah.” Well if he did know of her mother’s scandal, he didn’t show it. Instead, he extended his hand for her to shake it._

_She put out her own hand and shook his. True, she was beneath him in station, but somehow she didn’t care. He seemed like a kindred spirit and she could tell that like her, they were behaving and talking formally like this because of the eyes of the adults watching them. But she could also see that he did want to truly talk to her. Perhaps they could be friends._

_“An honor, Your Majesty,” she replied._

_Jareth released her hand. He didn’t want her to address him like that. They were both children. They should be able to talk to each other on an equal level._

_“Would you like to talk out on the balcony? It’s too stuffy in here for my tastes and the music is rather dull.” He needed to talk to her, to learn more. She fascinated him._

_Sarah nodded. “I’d love to.” Out on the balcony they could have a real conversation. And she had to agree with him. The music was rather horrid._

\-----  
The storm was not letting up. Jareth knew that the deed was done, the girl’s wish granted. Another baby wished away to his kingdom. 

He flew up to the window of the baby’s room. He caught a glimpse of the teenager inside, who appeared to be terrified, uncertain of what had just happened. There was so much for Sarah to comprehend in that moment that Jareth knew that she would not let him in. He would have to come in himself.

The window unlatched and he flew in, circling around the room before landing in front of the open window. He transformed into his true form and stood before the girl, cape billowing in the wind, the glitter residue of his magic in the air. 

She looked at him then, as if pulling on all of her courage to do so, to face him with a false brave face.

“You’re him, aren’t you? You’re the Goblin King.” What famous words.

He smirked at her. Now to play the villain she and the rest of the world believed him to be. Indeed, it wasn’t in his plans to be before her like this, not now, but Sarah always had a habit of twisting his plans. He would have to work with this, so he supposed he should have fun and relish in the role that the others, and now she, had cast him in. 

_Let us begin. Do not disappoint me, Sarah._ Jareth thought. He was eager to see where she would take their story now.


	4. Peaches

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What is this madness? Another chapter posted so soon after the last one? I've really been on a roll.
> 
> Thank you again for the kudos and bookmark as well as the comments and subscriptions. I truly appreciate it.
> 
> More to come soon.

There was a clap of thunder, the only noise for a moment. Jareth watched the girl register in her mind that he was there before, that her fairy tale was more than just a book. _It_ was real. _He_ was real and she was the heroine of the tale. He took a moment to observe her, wondering how many of the secret details he had included in the story that she had picked up. 

He had to give her credit, however. Even though he could tell that she was obviously afraid, she stood her ground, just like the queen he knew. He had seen her look like this before when they had been teens, but then, like now, she did not flee with her tail between her legs. She did not leave it for someone to save her and solve the problem. Prepared or not, Sarah took on the challenges given to her. That was something that Jareth admired in her. Although he did not show it before her now, he was glad that in her rebirth, she had come back to him in both body and soul. Her spirit was the same.

The tale had begun. Despite her pulling on every ounce of courage to face him, Sarah could not convince Jareth to give her her baby brother back. The wish was binding. It had been made and even Jareth, the Goblin King and Lord of the Labyrinth, could not disobey it. Sarah would have to live with this decision as hard as it was for him to make her do so. Then again, he was the villain. 

But even with this role, he could offer her a way to fix the problem. He gave her an invitation and she took it. Thirteen hours, he granted her. No more and no less than the first time.  
\-----  
_“Your highness, the candidates for your bride.” Pogo announced as he pushed a small roll of parchment into the Jareth’s hand. It was something that the young king had been trying to avoid, but the council and his keepers seemed to be adamant about racing the clock on this matter._

_He sighed and opened up the roll, looking at a list of names. There were plenty of girls listed about his age from across the Underground. The nymph princess, the witch maiden, and the gnome royal daughter were listed among others. He knew several of the girls from meetings at various balls and the others, he had learned about from his tutors. However, one name that he was looking for was not listed._

_Jareth threw the roll back at Pogo._

_“Put Sarah of house Williams on there as a candidate.” He instructed._

_“Sarah of house… A human, Sire?!” The goblin was in complete disbelief at the idea. He knew that the Underground and the Aboveground were obtaining peace, but wasn’t marrying a human taking it a step too far? Besides, any of the brides that he and the council had selected for Jareth would be perfect._

_The teen king glared down at his keeper, a cold look he would grow fully into when he was an adult. “The law states that I am allowed to put in my own bridal candidate. I have selected Sarah of house Williams. Put her name down, Logs, or I will put you head first into the Bog of Eternal Stench!”_

_The elder goblin was too afraid to say no, even if he believed that it was a horrible idea. Sarah was a human girl, after all. What did she have to offer the Goblin King? What made matters worse was that she wasn’t even a princess in her own world. She was just a lord’s daughter._

_“Good.” Jareth took Pogo’s cowering as a sign that there would be no protest against his selection for a bridal candidate. His plan worked for he watched as his keeper unroll the parchment before taking up a quill dipped in ink and adding the girl’s name to the bottom of the list. “Now then, send out invitations to each of them. In one month’s time, they will come to my labyrinth one at a time to solve it. Only she who solves it will be my queen.”_

_When Pogo finished writing Sarah’s name, he looked up at Jareth, still a bit shaken from the threat of being dumped into the Bog of Eternal Stench._

_“And what will happen if none of them solve your labyrinth?” He dared to ask._

_The teen thought for a minute._

_“Then I guess I’m not going to get married for a long time.” Jareth laughed. The council could take that. While it was perhaps a childish notion, the boy was still the Goblin King and sovereign over his realm. Even the council couldn’t take that away from him. “Now if you excuse, Bongo, I have an important meeting to attend.”_

_“A meeting to attend?” The goblin seemed to snap out of the state that the young king had put him in. “I do not believe you have anything planned, Sire. So perhaps it’s best if you-.”_

_“I’m not going to my tutors right now. I told you I have a meeting. Leave it at that.”_

_Before Pogo could stop him, Jareth was gone, leaving behind a trail of glitter residue._  
\-----  
_The girl gazed up at the tree in front of her. Its branch bore an interesting shaped fruit that she had never seen before. The closest tree to something like it that she had in her world was an apple tree._

_“You should smell them. If they smell sweet that means they’re ripe.” A voice behind her said._

_Sarah turned from the tree to see the young Goblin King. This wasn’t the first time she had met with him since the ball. They had talked so much that night, though, about everything and nothing at the same time. Both of them had come to realize that despite being from different worlds they had so much in common, in particular when it came to what was expected of them in the positions they had been born into and the sense of freedom that seemed to be squashed with their respective statuses._

_“Jareth.” She smiled at him. “Leather today, I see.”_

_She had picked up on his penchant for changing clothes every so often. But she supposed since he was king, even if he was a young one, he was expected to always look good and keep a vast wardrobe._

_“Do you like it?” He asked, showing off his outfit of a brown leather jacket with matching cape, cream colored linen shirt, and tailored brown pants. To top it all off, he had on leather boots and gloves._

_“It suits you.”_

_He looked at her, admiring her forest green dress with white sleeves. He had seen her in several of her outfits, but green, white, and gold suited her best in his eyes, for those colors seemed to bring out the brilliant color of her eyes._

_“Any trouble getting here?” He knew that Sarah was taking a risk each time she left her home to come visit him in the Underground. He had supplied her with a crystal ball for her escapes from her reality to come to him. He had mastered some magic and transportation and opening up portals between the worlds was he had grasped easily. In order to see her as often as possible, he had given Sarah the crystal ball as her portal to him._

_“None, though I have to home in time to watch over Toby. Father was fine having the servants watch over their pride and joy, but Irene says that she doesn’t trust the servants.” It was obvious that Sarah was still a bit envious of her baby half brother and having to be stuck with watching over him for what seemed like all the time._

_“You know you could wish him away. I would keep him forever and ever and turn him into a goblin since he’s causing you so much pain.” Jareth offered._

_As tempting as it was, she had to turn him down, for now at least. “No, but thank you. I appreciate what you are trying to do for me, though.”_

_“Such a pity.” He moved towards the tree before selecting one of the pieces of fruit and smelling it. It smelt wonderful. He plucked it and handed it to Sarah. “A peach, my lady. Be careful of the pit.”_

_The girl sniffed it herself before biting into the fruit. The sweet taste flowed immediately into her mouth._

_“This is really good!” She declared before taking another bite._

_Sarah liked peaches. Somehow that gave new meaning to the fruit for Jareth._  
\-----  
He gazed into a nearby crystal ball, watching the teenager attempt to navigate his labyrinth. It seemed that she had, with the help of his faerie control dwarf, found a way inside, but she was having trouble getting passed the first part, unable to find the many openings. If it weren’t for him wanting her to push herself, it would have been so pathetic to see her like this. Others had failed where Sarah was now. But this beginning was a test for her, something to make her realize that she could see past illusions and not take things for granted.

“You’re going to have try harder than that.” Jareth said, watching her pound the walls in frustration. He sighed and waved his hand over the crystal and the image in it faded away. 

The Goblin King moved to reach for a fruit that had been set out on a silver plate for him. He gazed down at the fruit and smiled. It was a single ripe peach. He tore into it and somehow for the first time in years it tasted truly sweet.


	5. You Remind Me of the Babe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yet another chapter!
> 
> Please do comment. I like to see if you all like where this is going and/or if I need to improve something in my writing. Thank you.
> 
> More to come soon.

The throne room was in chaos, as Jareth had expected it to be. It had been the first time that a baby had be taken away to his kingdom in some years, so his subjects were excited about it. If he was to be honest, however, his subjects antics could be quite annoying and time consuming. Sometimes it felt like he was ruling over crass children than terrifying goblins. At the moment, several of his subjects that loitered about the throne room were busy arguing with each other or agitating the chickens that they had kept as pets. He still wasn’t sure why he had even let them into the throne room, but he supposed it came out his need for companionship and his boredom. He was so bored. With his role as Sarah’s villain and the rules that he himself had stipulated, he could not assist her. He could do nothing but watch and wait.

Sarah had just under ten hours to solve his labyrinth and like before, the hours seemed to crawl by at a snail’s pace. He looked away from the thirteen hour clock on his wall, needing to find a distraction to keep himself entertained. Over all the noise, he had heard the cries of the baby. In a pit in the middle of the throne room was the child, a crying thing with fair hair. He couldn’t blame the baby for crying. The goblins were some of the most horrible baby sitters. He wondered if Sarah knew that all those years ago when she had kindly refused his tease of an offer for him to take Toby off her hands and turn him into a goblin.

The king stood, having enough of the noise from his subjects and the screaming baby. He began to address them and picked up the child, singing to the boy, and swinging him around. The baby became happy again before becoming tired and falling asleep. In the Aboveground, Jareth knew that it was a late hour when babies ought to be in bed.

After silencing his subjects, several of whom who also found the need to take a nap, he summoned a crib to appear in the middle of the room. Carefully, he placed Toby in it and covered the boy with a blanket. 

Jareth looked down at the crib fondly. The crib, however, had never been meant to house wished away children. He had commissioned it long ago for a specific purpose, a purpose that he hoped would be fulfilled sometime in the future.  
\-----  
 _Sarah sat on the bed in the royal chambers, her mind dizzy from looking at fabrics and toys. There was so much to think about. Sometimes it felt like there was more to take into consideration with this then when she had begun her rule by Jareth’s side as the Goblin Queen and Lady of the Labyrinth._

_The queen sighed and began to rub her belly. She was still relatively early into her pregnancy, only just now beginning to show a slight bump. But she was grateful for the little prince or princess she was now carrying in her womb was calm for the moment and not making her feel a bout of nausea._

_“How are you feeling, love?” Her husband asked her, concerned. “You seemed to hardly touch your breakfast, except for the peaches.”_

_Sarah looked over to see Jareth coming towards her. She offered him a slight smile._

_“I’m sorry if I worried you. I just wasn’t feeling well at breakfast, but I am feeling fine now.” She knew that she had to keep up her strength. She was eating for two. “Though lately I feel like all the baby wants me to eat is fruit and pies.”_

_Jareth sat on the bed next to her and carefully placed his hand over hers on her belly._

_“You know that I will give you anything you desire, Sarah. But I will ensure that you and the baby keep healthy. I know that I’ve put you through a lot. You are strong. Only you were meant to be my wife and the mother of our child.” Truth be told, no one but Sarah would have had the strength to carry Jareth’s child. His fae nature made his genes strong. If any other had carried his child, that mother would fade away, weak. But not Sarah, not his Sarah._

_“Your sweet.” She replied before moving his hand away from her belly. She reached up to kiss him. Jareth eagerly returned the kiss, tasting a hint of peaches on her lips. This was his paradise, his world, and Sarah was everything to him._

_He moved his lips away from hers after a few moments and gestured before them, a crystal ball in hand. “I’ve brought you a gift. Well I suppose it would be more accurate to say it’s a gift for the baby.”_

_She looked at him, interested. “What is it?”_

_He threw the crystal ball. It landed on the floor in front of their bed before transforming into a crib. The crib was wood with gold accents. Carved into the wood were stars, moons, and little barn owls. Sarah managed to get up after Jareth had presented her with the crib. She got a closer look at it. The crib was exquisite, perfect for a little prince or princess. Jareth had stood up too and he gently wrapped his arm around his queen._

_“Jareth, it’s perfect.” Just like her life here. Jareth had given her her dreams, her freedom, and above all, his love. She could not be happier. “I hope when our child grows up that they’ll be able to have what we have.”_

_“Oh?”_

_“True love. It’s rare, I know that. I’m thankful for what we have, for you, every day. I was able to marry my best friend. Not everyone can say that.”_

_She felt her husband kiss the top of her head._

_“I love you too, Sarah, my queen.”_  
\-----  
He gazed once more into his crystal ball while everyone slept off the last of their nap. Nine hours. Sarah had nine hours now. Several of those who had tried to solve his labyrinth before had given up by now, so lost in the twists and turns of it. Some who attempted his challenge had been broken, while others declared the labyrinth a place of utter insanity. But not his Sarah. Not then and not now.

She had gotten further, he saw, coming before two guarded doors. One of the doors would lead to his castle and the other…well it was a trap. He watched Sarah engage in conversation with the guards, trying to use the clues given to her to deduce the right door to go through. Yet despite her logic, she chose the wrong door and fell right into the trap, into the oubliette.

_She did the same thing before, too._ Jareth thought. Indeed, it had taken her several times in the past to guess the right door. He had come to her rescue during those times. Yet just about every time he would appear before her in the oubliette or sent one of his subjects to fetch her, she would try and figure the way out on her own or manipulate the situation in such a way that it appeared as though she had gotten them to assist her out instead of the other way around.

The goblins around him woke up and several of them looked into the crystal ball, seeing how far their long lost queen had gotten. Well it was too bad for Sarah. The rules were clear. She would be taken back to the beginning and have to start all over again. He knew that she would never give up. Even in her reborn form he could see that fire in her eyes.  
\-----  
 _The girl stared at the vast labyrinth before her. It was huge. While she had often come to the Underground over the past several months to visit her best friend, she had never actually seen his kingdom. Sarah had always been on the outskirts, as if meeting him in private like a pair of young, runaway lovers._

_“This is your kingdom.” She said, turning to face the young goblin king. Jareth was dressed in black this time with hints of blue and purple in the fabric showing up in the light._

_“Yes.” He answered. Somehow at the moment, however, he felt almost ashamed, like a dog who had done something naughty and was now being punished for it. Sarah was hard to read. Was she angry at him, or even worse, disappointed? “Sarah, I-.”_

_“It’s beautiful.” Those words were genuine and honest. He could tell. She had never really seen a kingdom this big before. It seemed to stretch on for ages._

_“Do you mean it?” He asked, as if needing confirmation, to know that what he had heard was correct. Some of his other bridal candidates had shut him down immediately, believing that his kingdom looked horrid, despite Jareth’s kingdom being one of the largest and most powerful kingdoms in the Underground._

_She turned to him._

_“Yes. I just wish you had shown it to me before.” She reassured him._

_“Yes, well I…I meant to.” He rubbed the back of his head, nervously. His heart was pounding. After all this time with her, he had realized that he was falling in love with her. It may have been young love, but it was an emotion that he had never felt before and it seemed to consume him. Indeed, he had found himself lately at times turning away from her so that she could not see him blush. “But I wasn’t sure how you’d react and I… My test and all.”_

_“Your test.” She repeated. “Jareth, I’m not angry at you about it. Truth is that I…” What was she to say? That she too had a developed an interest in him beyond friendship? “I just wished you had asked me in person is all. When my father saw your invitation, he practically swooned and Irene panicked. That’s why I’m wearing this. Have to look good for the Goblin King, after all.”_

_She gestured to her outfit. It didn’t suit her at all. It was trimmed with lace and overly frilly. Not to mention, it felt hard for her to breathe in the corset she wore. Jareth had noticed the she attempted take in as much breath as she could at the end of her sentences._

_Jareth produced a crystal ball and threw it at her. It was strange, but ever since Sarah came into his life, his powers, his magic, had improved tremendously. It was as if she was the key to his true power._

_A cloud of glitter surrounded Sarah before dissipating. Instead of the gown she had been brought to the labyrinth in, Jareth had given her an outfit that better suited her for the challenge. She now wore a working dress of green with brown boots. It was good for her to move around in and accomplish the tasks for the test._

_“Better?” He asked._

_“Much. Thank you.”_

_The Goblin King swallowed and took a step back from her. He could not be biased in this. He had promised Pogo that he would give each bridal candidate the exact same amount of time and no help on his part. She had to solve the labyrinth using only her wit and strength. That was the agreement._

_“You will have thirteen hours to solve the labyrinth.” He told her. “Your goal is the castle beyond the Goblin City.”_

_She turned away from Jareth to look at his kingdom. It was big and while she knew Jareth, she had no idea what lay within the labyrinth. It was a challenge that she had not been prepared for, but she would face it. She would not run and hide. Besides, this was her chance. If she solved it, not only could she be the one to truly unite both of their worlds, but she could be with her best friend, forever. Sarah could leave her old life behind, let go of her mother’s scandal, and no longer have to watch over her screaming baby half brother._

_“It doesn’t look that far.” She attempted to seem brave. She did not want to disappoint him._

_“It’s further than you think and time is short.” He warned her._

_Sarah looked behind her and saw that Jareth was gone, leaving behind some glitter residue. There was no time for that. She needed to get moving._


	6. Twisted Rules

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait. Here's chapter six.
> 
> Again, thank you so much for kudos and bookmark! Please do comment as I like to see if you all like where this story is going and/or if I need to improve something in my writing. 
> 
> As always, more to come soon.

It seemed that no matter what, Sarah always found a way to break the rules and bend his plans to her desires. This time was no different. Jareth saw the scene playing out and while he doubted she fully understood her influence, she had a clue of what she was doing, managing to spark the need within the dwarf to help her instead of taking her back to the beginning. He would have been happy to allow her this, but rules were rules and he was her villain.

He seemed to surprise them. Did they really think that he could just allow them to waltz about his labyrinth and cheat? Yet despite her surprised, his Sarah didn’t waver, even going so far as to tell him that his labyrinth was a piece of cake. That was her. Some might have called it stubbornness, but in this moment he preferred the term _determined_.

Very well. If she would bend the rules, as she always did in the past, then he would do so as well. It would provide her with another lesson, that life wasn’t fair. He shortened her time, cutting off a few hours. He might have felt a twinge of guilt at this, but she had solved it before in less than thirteen hours. Still, it was hard, to watch her learn without being by her side like before. He loved her, and while he was the villain in this story, he would also provide the role that she seemed to be missing, her teacher, her mentor. She was in his world now and he was no longer confined to his avian form, where he had only been able to watch her.

“So the labyrinth’s a piece of cake, is it? Well, let’s see how you deal with this little slice.” He threw a crystal ball into the darkness of the tunnels in front of him before disappearing, a trace of glitter residue on the ground where he once stood.

The Cleaners. Not exactly the most dangerous of the residents of his kingdom, but enough to push the reborn queen to think and face her fears.  
\-----  
_Sarah held up her hand in a moment of fear. She didn’t have time to move or think, as if frozen to the spot. But before she could do anything, a crystal ball flew passed her and hit the drilling machine, stopping it from terrorizing her. Before her, she saw that the machine had stopped with smoke coming out of it. She heard arguing, the goblins operating the device yelling at each other about the fact that their machine was no longer working._

_Sarah breathed out heavily, recovering from her shock. In retrospect, she realized that she should have paid attention to Jareth’s warnings. When she had solved his labyrinth, she had only caught a glimpse of his kingdom. But now, at sixteen, and Jareth’s betrothed, she had felt the need to completely explore her intended’s kingdom. Not every citizen of his kingdom was as dimwitted and childlike as several of the goblins that she had met during her first journey. Some of the beings that called the labyrinth home were cunning and intelligent and others were dangerous. The beings before she could place in the dangerous category. Well, dangerous she supposed to those who got in the way of their work, which from she had gathered from the goblins arguing was to dig tunnels, cleaning out the earth there._

_Suddenly she felt warm arms wrap around her._

_“You’re alright. You’re safe now.” Jareth tried to soothe her. “I did warn you.”_

_“I know. I just…” She was still a bit shaken._

_He continued to hold her close, not letting go. He could tell that she needed him at this moment._

_“Those are the Cleaners.” He explained to her. “They won’t hurt you ever again. I’ll put them in the Bog of Eternal Stench if they do.”_

_“Jareth…”_

_“Come. We should go back to the castle and have some tea.” He suggested._

_Sarah moved out of his grasp and turned to face him, calm now from her fright._

_“You were never one for tea parties. I know how much you detest such things.” Not that she blamed him. There was so many more interesting things to do than sit down to a cup of tea with little cakes and gossip. “I was just little scared is all. But I’m fine now.” She moved to kiss him on the cheek. “Thank you for being my hero.”_

_His face turned red from blush and before he could stop her, she walked off to continue her exploration of his kingdom._  
\-----  
He had left her an escape, knowing that she would want to save herself. Despite the rules stating that he could not help her, he would not stop her from finding the escape, a panel of wall with some of his glitter residue on it that concealed a ladder. He smiled to himself when he saw her find it, the vision showing up in his crystal ball. The rules may have dictated that she was to go back to the beginning, but she had twisted the path and, oh, he couldn’t help that he had tried to get her path back on track, only for her to prevail anyway. Such a pity.

He looked away from the vision he saw of her in his crystal ball when he heard the baby crying. It seemed that nap time was over. Jareth moved to pick up the baby. He could tell why Toby was crying. His goblins had abducted enough babies that he had tend to for him to know the signs. After producing another crystal ball, he transformed it into a bottle of formula.

He presented the bottle to Toby, who immediately latched onto it, drinking from the bottle eagerly. Once the babe had finished the bottle, he carefully patted the boy on the back, helping him to burp. While he found some joy in caring for Toby, it was a horrible tease of fatherhood for him. How he had only wanted to tend to his and Sarah’s children. He never knew how many they would have, but how he had longed to hear the sound of little feet around the castle, a product of his and Sarah’s love. But the humans had made sure that that was not to be. Not after they had destroyed her in the past. Perhaps now he could get what he desired.  
\-----  
_He sat in his seat, bored. Another council meeting that if he had the choice, he would have gone without. But as the monarch over a large and powerful kingdom, he was forced to attend. Jareth gazed back at the other members of the council with a cold look. He knew that they were angry at him, just as they had been several years ago when he had announced to them that he would marry Sarah as only she had solved his labyrinth. While the two worlds were working on peace, it seemed that players on both sides had not been ready for a union between a fae and a human. Yet when was Jareth, or Sarah for that matter, one to follow what other people wanted?_

_“You gave her powers.” One of the council members said, a wispy creature, thin and white._

“Certain _powers.” He corrected them, defending himself. “She is my wife and my queen. The Goblin Queen and Lady of the Labyrinth is entitled to these powers.”_

_“She is still a human being.” Another council member said, this one stout with curly purple hair like clouds. “Humans cannot be trusted.”_

_“Yet you are trying to make peace between our worlds. Tell me, do you just want to reap the benefits of being able to go to their world and do as you please without offering them something in return? How unfair of you.” Jareth retorted. “I did what none of you had the courage to do. I fell in love and married her. I may have come to the throne at an early age, but even a child knows that true love is one of the greatest forces in the Under and Aboveground. Such a pity that you haven’t realized that.”_

_That seemed to silence the council._

_“Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some actual business to take care of.”_

_Before anyone could stop him, he was gone._

_He reappeared in the royal chambers to seek out his wife, who was with child. Only problem was, she wasn’t there._


	7. The King's Move

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yet another update.
> 
> As always, thank you for the kudos and bookmark. Do feel free to comment.

He was bored again. Some hours had passed and while Sarah still had plenty of time to solve the labyrinth, Jareth was becoming rather impatient. The subjects in his throne room were beginning to annoy him and young Toby had fallen into a rather long nap after being fed and burped. 

That was the hard thing about his role in this adventure. He had to remain for the most part in the shadows, unable to help Sarah. He had been just as impatient when she had been on the path to solving the labyrinth the first time. He remembered how as a teenager, he had taken out his anger of his boredom on his subjects, even threatening to put several of them, including his keeper, Pogo, head first into the Bog of Eternal Stench. The only difference was that this time, as an adult, he was keeping a lid on taking out his anger and had involved himself as much as he could in his queen’s journey.

Sarah had managed to escape the Cleaners and was now making her way as best she could towards the castle. He had seen that she had already befriended one of the gentle giants in his labyrinth. It was not surprising to him. His queen had always been able to win the love of his subjects easily in her old life. 

While he noticed that she did make a few mistakes as she continued her journey, she seemed to be more confident, as if she had some sort of bearing of where she was going. Were some of the memories of her past life returning to her? Jareth didn’t know. But what he did know was that he had been out of the game long enough and now was the time for him to make a move, a big move.  
\-----  
“Goblins and Other Creatures of the Labyrinth. Volume One.” _Jareth read out the title that his wife had written on the front page of one of her leather bound journals. He saw several more journals under it, indicating a series that Sarah had written. He had known that she had kept several journals of her various adventures in his kingdom since their official engagement. Even so, he never expected for her to write volumes about them, nor an encyclopedia about the various creatures that lived in their kingdom. “How much did you write?”_

_His queen looked up from her spot on the floor. She was sitting in front of a chest that she was in the process of reorganizing, despite her husband’s protests that she should take it easy as she was pregnant. Sarah would have none of that. The baby was giving her a break from feeling sick and she was going to take it and do something productive._

_“I don’t remember. Six or seven books, maybe, on just that.” It hard for her to remember. She had written so much and hadn’t stopped. “We have a lot of subjects, Jareth. Besides, it may be a bit outdated, but I think it might be good for the baby to have when they get older. They should know who the people of our kingdom are. Besides, it was my way of understanding more about your kingdom when we were betrothed. The way to understand something is to study it and live it.”_

_The Goblin King looked down at his wife. This was just one of many reasons he loved Sarah. She had this curiosity about her, a willingness to learn and explore. But no matter how much knowledge she retained, she would always make her own decisions._

_“Our child will be very prepared for the throne indeed.” Although, Jareth knew that that day would not come for many years, he was glad that they could think about their child and his or her wellbeing. “However, on the subject of studying, I have seen that you have been practicing with your certain powers.”_

_Sarah’s face flushed red, nervous and embarrassed. She had been practicing, trying her best to grasp magic and spells. Since she became pregnant, her powers seemed to have gone a bit haywire, as if she held within her such raw energy that it was hard for her to tame. She wondered if it was because the baby within her womb had inherited their father’s magic and could only, for the moment, express their powers through their mother._

_“You were able to turn those goblins back from cats and dogs, weren’t you?” She asked softly, ashamed that while she could cast some spells, she did know how to undo them yet._

_“Yes, although I was half tempted to leave them in those forms.” Jareth found it all amusing. Then again, he did not expect her to have a handle on her powers yet. He had only granted her them a short while ago. She did not have the years of training in the magical arts that he had._

_Her face regained a normal color and she laughed. Her husband knew how to handle any situation and make her smile._

_Jareth moved to sit down next to her in front of the old chest. Taking a peek inside, he could see it was full of sentimental items from Sarah’s old life, her life as a lord’s daughter in the Aboveground. From the chest, he picked out a stuffed bear. There was nothing magical about other than that it was incredibly soft._

_“Lancelot.” Sarah told him when she saw the bear in his hand. While she knew that Jareth had learned some about the Aboveground for her sake and had listened to her stories, there were no doubt some things that her husband was still confused by. “He’s a children’s toy that I had growing up. Just a source of comfort for me as a child.”_

_“He?” Jareth took a better look at the toy to try and figure out what made it male._

_“In the Aboveground, it is common enough for children to give their toys names and assign them some sort of gender.” Sarah explained. “You had toys growing up too, my love. Don’t be so surprised.” She had even seen some of the toys from his childhood as she was picking through and trying to decide appropriate toys to pass down to their coming child._

_Her husband let go of the bear and took another good look at Sarah’s chest._

_“Do you miss it? Living in the Aboveground, that is.” He asked her. She could hear worry in his voice, as if no matter how much he could give her, he could never give her back her childhood, her home in the Aboveground. “I may be your husband, but I don’t want to also be your captor. Sarah, if you ever want to go, to return home, just tell me.”_

_Sarah put a gentle hand on her husband’s shoulder._

_“You were never my captor, Jareth. It is true that I do miss my old home from time to time, but who wouldn’t miss their childhood home?” She was being honest with him, as she always was. “It is where I came from, my origin. While I may visit it from time to time, that doesn’t mean that I will leave you forever. My home is here, with you. I love you. I love the labyrinth and the Underground so you needn’t worry.”_

_She would be there with him always and forever, no matter what._  
\-----  
The dwarf had abandoned the girl. While Jareth held some concern for her being on her own, he held himself back from helping her. Sarah needed this time by herself if she was ever to learn her truth strength. Besides, as he was playing her villain, he doubted that she would accept his help. That was why he needed someone else to put the move he had planned into motion, someone that he knew that she trusted.

Continuing his role, he faced Hoggle. No one could doubt that Jareth was a good king, but even he knew that since his queen had died, he had been rather harsh on his subjects, coming off as cold and even cruel with those who had a brain. In that moment, Jareth knew that Hoggle was nervous and frightened of him, wishing that he had never been a part of the reborn queen’s journey. The Goblin King held the high ground and he was using this to his advantage.

“Wait.” He told the dwarf who was more than eager to get out of his sight and find Sarah to take her back to the beginning. “I’ve got a much better plan, Hoggle. Give her this.” Sarah had already warped the rules of the game. It made him wonder if there ever had been rules in the first place. But his Sarah, then and now, was creative and always achieved whatever she put her mind to.

Jareth summoned one of his crystal balls, which turned into a peach. It was no ordinary peach by any means, but he knew that she would eat it. Sarah had loved the fruit in the past, so why would things change now? 

He tossed the fruit at Hoggle, who caught it. The dwarf seemed confused as to why his king would give him such a fruit to give to Sarah. Jareth knew that the dwarf would not remember, very few would, that peaches had been the Goblin Queen’s favorite fruit. Nor would many remember how after Sarah had solved the labyrinth the first time and Jareth had declared her his betrothed, that he had made her a princess. Upon hearing of Jareth’s betrothal, the council had petitioned against the match because even in the Aboveground, Sarah was not a princess. She had been a lord’s daughter. Even as a teenager, Jareth had been clever as he had rebelled against the council. He had used his authority as king to name Sarah as the Princess of the Peach Orchards, making her in all technicality a princess and of an appropriate status for him to marry. Twisted rules indeed.

“It ain’t gonna hurt the little lady, is it?” Hoggle asked.

“Oh. Now, why the concern?” Jareth seemed to be curious, but he knew. Even now, Sarah could win the hearts of his subjects. It was no surprise that when she had been his queen in her past life that his subjects had adored and loved her. In this new life, though she did not know it yet, she was easily regaining their affection.

“Uh. I won’t do nothin’ to harm her.” Of course, Hoggle’s concern was for naught. Jareth would never do anything to harm his Sarah.

It would not do, however, for the dwarf to back out of this. Jareth needed him to be his piece on the board, even if he had to bully Hoggle into doing so. This was for Sarah and for her, he would do anything.

Frightened of the king, Hoggle stood for a moment, Jareth’s unwitting pawn. The Goblin King’s play was now put into motion and there was nothing that anyone could do about it.  
\-----  
_He had returned from the council, who were proving to be an annoyance. They were furious at Jareth for his actions, but their hands were tied because of his power and immense kingdom. To go against him would result in a war that no one wanted._

_The Goblin King wanted nothing more at the moment then to be with his wife. Sarah always knew how to calm him down. The only problem was that she was not in their castle at the moment. It was true that he would never hold her prisoner for he loved her. She was free to go where she wanted, but that didn’t help him when he wanted her._

_Before he could do anything to see if he could track her down, he heard a voice calling out to him. It sounded desperate and in deep pain as if it were last words. He knew the voice. It was Sarah’s._

_“I wish that the goblins would come and take me away, right now!”_

_He was gone before the wish had even finished being said._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are starting to get interesting. I'll leave you on that cliffhanger until the next chapter, which will come soon.
> 
> Also Sarah's journals in one of the flashback scenes are loosely based on the summary that I read of The Goblins of Labyrinth by Brian Froud, which I hope to be getting in the mail from Amazon soon. Link to it here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0810970554/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


	8. Remembrance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An update. Sorry for the wait. 
> 
> I have a potential work opportunity coming up soon, but I'll try and update as much as I can.
> 
> Also, I am considering writing a prequel to this fan fiction, taking the scenes of the flashbacks/memories and putting them in a sequential order along with new material with more detail. What do you all think about that? Please comment.

Escape from the forest of the fireys, crossing the Bog of Eternal Stench, and gaining new friends to aid her in her quest did not in any way prepare Sarah for what was to come. But Jareth watched her and could see, could tell that something within her was beginning to awaken, her true power. 

His queen was starting to return to him, though a voice within him was telling him to stop her journey, to give her back the child that she had wished away carelessly. She was not ready, she was too young. And yet, seeing her again, even if she was a teenager, made him feel whole again, even if it was for a few hours. She needed to remember. 

Jareth knew that his plan would play out soon, but there was something that he needed to do before that.

He stood in the middle of the labyrinth, the direct center of his kingdom, and the heart of it. He carefully pulled up a small section of the stone ground, opening up a hidden trap door. Despite how hidden it was, the easy opening of it indicated that it had been opened many times before. 

He summoned a crystal ball into his palm, which immediately began to illuminate, a source of light. He shined it over the opening of the trap door to help him see a stone staircase leading into the dark. Jareth began to walk down the staircase, closing the trap door behind him.

The Goblin King was the only one who came to this part of the labyrinth. He seemed to be the only one who knew about it, though if any of his subjects did know of Jareth’s secret place, they avoid it out of fear of being bogged. However, despite the fact that only Jareth knew this place, he often wished he hadn’t. If he hadn’t then his life would have been so much better.

He didn’t count how many stairs he walked down. He didn’t need to. He knew this place all too well. 

When he was at the end of the staircase, he walked straight down the passageway. As the light shined to help him see, he saw traces of his glitter residue on the walls. How many times had he come down here? He didn’t know. The countless years had bled into each other.

He stopped at the end of the hallway, taking in a deep breath before walking into a large room. 

It was actually more than a large room. It was a tomb, for in the middle of the room was a stone sarcophagus. Careful details had been carved on the sides of the sarcophagus, details of peaches, barn owls, the faces of goblins, and masks. The sarcophagus spoke of royalty and love. It was not surprising for who this was a tomb for, Sarah the Goblin Queen and Lady of the Labyrinth.

Jareth carefully approached the sarcophagus. He took in the carving of Sarah on the lid of the sarcophagus. The carving depicted her in a beautiful gown, holding a peach in one hand and a sword in the other. It was a powerful image. While the likeness to her was incredible, the Goblin King had always found some fault with it. The nose was slightly too big or her fingers just a tad too long. Then again, his criticism came from his mourning of his wife and their unborn child. This stone figure could not compare to flesh and blood. 

“Sarah.” He said her name delicately. He carefully placed his gloved hand on the carving’s stone cheek. “You have come back to me. And when you are truly mine again, we will make them pay for what they did to you.”

They would pay. With Sarah by his side, he would not fail.

It was cheap what he done before to them, but some might have said it was great lesson. And yet, it was not enough for Jareth.   
\-----  
 _There was blood, so much blood. She was barely hanging on, weak and trying to crawl her way out. It was meant to have been a simple visit, a good visit with her father, her step mother, and her half brother. But things went horribly wrong. The world around her was burning and she had been deeply wounded._

_She had called her husband to her with what strength she had. She needed him. But it was hard, hard for her to hang on, to want to stay._

_Sarah felt cold and unable to move anymore. She knew that she was dying of her wounds, of the poison inflicted upon her. Her union with Jareth had been an abomination, her unborn child a monster that could live in neither world, they had shouted at her._

_It was no secret that there were humans in her world who detested the fae and the magical beings who lived in the Underground, even going so far as to believe them demons. The Goblin King was a warlock, the leader of these rebels against peace between the worlds had declared. Sarah, a precious maiden, had been enchanted by him before being spirited away to his bed and mothering his wretched child, the false story went._

_There could never be peace between the worlds. The numbers showed that. That why her family had been murdered for their support of the peace and why she too would…_

_“Sarah!” She heard her name. The voice was familiar to her. Yes. She knew it very well, the voice of the fae who loved her beyond time and place, Jareth._

_The Goblin Queen felt warm arms wrap around her, holding her close. There was wetness on her face and she realized that Jareth was crying. Why was he crying? And why did he feel so warm when she felt so cold?_

_“Jareth.” Sarah managed to say his name, her voice soft. She felt so tired and Jareth felt so soft. The pain was gone and even the color red had faded._

_“Stay! Stay with me. You promised me! It’s only forever…” He trailed off when he saw that she had closed her eyes. Her breathing had stopped, her heart ceased to beat, and Jareth’s world came crashing down around him._

_He continued to hold her close to him. He realized, however, that he had a few short seconds of time. Meddling with death was not something that he wanted to do, but for Sarah, he would cross mountains of shards of glass barefoot if needed._

_He removed his gray leather glove. Jareth hardly ever removed his gloves for with the gloves off, his powers had the ability to be so great that he could lose control. The gloves and crystal balls provided him a way to tame his magic so that a great burst of raw power could not come from him._

_His hand hovered for a second above his wife’s heart. He noticed the wretched condition she was in. Her white dress was ripped and stained with blood. He could the scent of poison from her body. Any ordinary human would have died before the Goblin King’s appearance. But Sarah was no ordinary woman. She had been his queen and her gift of certain powers allowed her to survive long enough to summon him before dying in his arms._

_He was about to put his hand down, to press his magic into her body, to restart her heart and that of their unborn child, when something flew by him, barely an inch away from hitting his ear. Jareth looked up to see a hooded man, an archer, with a group of heavily armed humans behind him._

_“Do not wake the dead, demon. You have put her through enough. We had to end it, to ensure her dignity before she could birth that monster and lay with you again.” The archer hissed at him._

_The time slot Jareth had to bring her back was gone. Reorder time. He had to reorder time. But how? That was magic that didn’t exist yet._

_Jareth looked at the humans with fury in his tear-filled eyes. How dare they kill his queen! How dare they!_

_Arrows flew at him along with knives and swords. Each one would come close, but would be knocked of course somehow. He was angry, and yet he didn’t care if they killed him. What was the point in living if he didn’t have his queen to share forever with?_

_Nothing was killing him. He gathered up his wife’s body in his arms, carrying her carefully. In a storm of glitter, he disappeared from the Aboveground._

_Sarah had certain powers and among them was that only she could defeat Jareth._  
\-----  
She had bitten into the peach at last. Jareth could feel it. Now his plan was in motion. Now he could be with her, guide her, help her remember. He did know that his plan was not Sarah’s. Her goal continued to be making her way to the castle beyond the Goblin City to rescue her baby brother. To Jareth, Toby was secondary since her wish had been his gateway to her. It was true that she was still young, but even so, he wanted her. He needed her to remember who she was so that when the time came, they could be together again, forever.

He sat on a window sill, gazing over his kingdom. The view had been one of Sarah’s favorites in her old life. Indeed, the very room that the window belonged to had been hard for him to enter for years for it had been meant to be their child’s nursery. Sarah had chosen the room, specifically for the view and its close proximity to their own chambers.

_“The baby will love it here.” She told him, gazing out the window of the room. The room itself had very little in it other than a tattered rug and old spider webs. “They’ll wake up each morning and be able to look over the labyrinth. This is also the perfect window for you to fly in to entertain them when you transform.”_

_Jareth looked around. He supposed it would be fitting for the Goblin Prince or Princess with some cleaning up and glitter. There needed to be more glitter._

_Sarah turned away from the window._

_“Jareth, I never did ask you something.” She said._

_“Ask me what, love?” His gaze went back to his wife. She was radiant with light from the window haloing her form._

_“Why a barn owl?” It was something that Sarah had always been curious about. It wasn’t her husband’s ability to transform that sparked her curiosity. She knew that that was part of the package with his powers. She was aware that he could have chosen any animal to transform into, but always without fail it was a barn owl._

_“They’re your favorite.” He knew that. Though, it had taken him some time to master the form. Several species of owl were only found in the Aboveground, including Sarah’s favorite breed._

He twirled some crystal balls in his hand. The clinking of the crystals against each other shook Jareth from his memory. He selected one of them, gently putting in the air as though it were a bubble. It floated away. It was time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was a hard chapter for me to write.
> 
> I think that Sarah's tomb and death were vaguely inspired by Game of Thrones.


	9. Crystal Balls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An update, finally. Sorry it took so long. I'm at the beginning of an employment opportunity and I found myself falling asleep at the computer when I tried to write this chapter earlier. ^^;
> 
> Thank you for the kudos and bookmarks.
> 
> Please do comment. I would really appreciate it.

Out of place. She felt so out of place and yet there was something familiar about the situation that she could not quite put her finger on. The music was different, though. Something within her told her that. But she had never been here before. She had never been to an event like this before, hadn’t she?

There was someone that Sarah needed to find. Someone that she had just met, but her heart had known for a long time. She had to find Jareth.

The Goblin King watched her. He could tell that she was searching around desperately to find him, even if the teenager did not understand why.

He had granted her her dreams. Her moment to feel like a princess. He had gifted her with a mother of pearl gown, similar to the one she had worn when they had first met. Jareth knew that as lovely as she looked now, her beauty would continue to ripen with age. She had become a goddess to him in her old life and he loved her with his whole heart. 

Jareth let his presence be known. The princess looked to him. He took her hands to lead her into a dance.  
\-----  
_The goblin king leaned on the balcony. The stars were out, silver against a black sky. The sky in the Aboveground was rather different from the one he commonly saw in his own world. It was beautiful to look at and he understood what Sarah had been telling him about. He could see the appeal, one good thing about this world. Even if the Aboveground contained limited magic of its own, he supposed he could not blame Sarah for loving this world. It was the home she was born and raised in._

_So why then? Why had she three years ago after solving the labyrinth agreed full heartedly to his proposal of marriage? The arrangement wasn’t binding. She could have left him any time she wanted and yet, she stayed by his side, loving him and his world._

_Jareth sighed. What did Sarah see in him, he, the king from another world and another species entirely? Perhaps she would be better with someone of her own kind. He knew, however, that would not do for Sarah. While he could never read her mind, what he did know for certain was that she loved him, truly. She was the only one that he had met who had been able to look pass his royalty to see who he truly was underneath, to see just Jareth._

_He heard footsteps coming towards him. They stopped and he saw familiar hands reach to grasp on to the rail of the balcony. Sarah stood there next to him. This was her night to be a princess in her world, to be the center of attention at a ball thrown for her. Why was she out here? Then again, why was he out of the party as well? As her betrothed, he was meant to be inside, helping her to celebrate._

_“Jareth.” She said his name softly. It was clear that she had something on her mind, but was also glad to see him. Then again, after three years of courtship and love, Sarah had become comfortable around him, knowing that she could tell him anything without being judged._

_“Sarah.” He replied. He moved back and put one of his hands gently on her shoulder. He could tell that she needed him._

_She leaned in to his touch and looked up at the stars._

_“It’s my birthday tonight. I am eighteen years old now, an adult.” She remarked as she spoke her thoughts. “My father and Irene put on this ball to celebrate my adulthood. While I appreciate the thought, this isn’t me. This isn’t what I want.” Sarah liked balls well enough, to be sure. But she hated the fact that this ball was being put on for a cheap political reason revolving around her. The message of the ball was that she was an adult now, of marriageable age, and she could consent and pop out babies to whoever married her._

_While she was betrothed to Jareth, nothing had been set in stone. Suitors had begun to negotiate with her father about marrying her. She supposed that the idea was if she was good enough for the Goblin King, then she would be good enough for anyone else. The offers no doubt were tempting to her father as several of her new suitors were at the ball._

_Having no choice and no power was not how she wanted her life to be. Sarah was not some pawn to be traded to the highest bidder. Jareth understood that. He was more than he betrothed. He was her best friend._

_In his free hand, the Goblin King summoned a crystal ball. He held it in front of her._

_“This can show your dreams, your desires.” He offered her._

_“My dreams.” She repeated as she reached out to take the crystal. “Only you seem to know my dreams, Jareth. Rather, you are the only one cares to know them.”_

_She tossed the crystal ball. It landed in the garden below balcony before transforming into a red rose bush. Jareth was surprised by this, but then again, Sarah was always surprising him._

_“Sarah?” He asked._

_“I want to be taken away from this horrible place. You know what I desire, what I want now? I want to be with you, in your labyrinth.” She confessed. At that moment, she knew that the only one who could appreciate her and make her feel like a princess this evening was Jareth._

_Her betrothed was taken back by her request. Was this evening truly upsetting her? It was true that she shared his detest for political balls and dancing to horrid music. Still, this was unexpected, particularly for a ball to honor her for her eighteenth birthday. But if that is what she wanted…_

_He put his other hand on her other shoulder. The poofs of her silver sleeves seemed to sag a bit under the weight of his hands._

_“Say the right words.” He whispered into her ear._

The right words. _She knew them. Jareth had taught her them long ago. It was a way for her to come to him, untraced, in place of her transportation crystal._

_“I wish that the goblins would come and take me away, right now.” Sarah spoke._

_An instant later, she and Jareth were gone in a cloud of glitter._  
\-----  
Dancing. They had danced so much in Sarah’s old life. At the beginning, she had let him lead, for although she was a lord’s daughter, taught by several private tutors, the one subject she seemed to lack good marks in was dancing. Now too, he knew that she would have two left feet. When she came to him, he automatically took the lead.

Oh how lovely she was as they danced. It was almost as if she was gliding, letting him be her guide. At some points during their dance, she appeared to have moments of recognition, of remembering her past life. But any hope for her coming back to him faded when the clock began to toll.

The clock had been a surprise to Jareth. He did not recall bringing the clock into this illusion. Had Sarah unknowingly called it in using her certain powers?

She tore herself away from him, seeking a way out. He watched her for a moment before stepping back. There was nothing more that he could do now that she had broken his spell. There was a crash in the mirror and the spell was broken.

It had been over far too quickly. The breaking of such a spell before it was time was apt to leave serious consequences. He acted quickly, giving her her mind back, her memories of the life she had now but kept out Toby. It would have put too much on her and also, he was her villain. But if he hadn’t worked to repair her this much, she could have been an empty shell with no idea who she even was. Jareth could not have that.  
\-----  
_Jareth moved to brush Sarah’s hair. It needed a quick brush after the pearls and beads that had adorned her hair for her birthday ball had been taken out._

_“There.” He said as he placed down the brush he had used. They were in the guest chambers that he had designated as her’s after she had solved his labyrinth. Sarah had spent several nights in his castle, getting used to the home she had planned to live in once they were married._

_“Thank you, Jareth.” She sat at the vanity he had provided for her. Her ball gown had been exchanged for a white nightgown with silver ribbons that tied in the front._

_“Here.” He summoned a second crystal ball for her that evening. He placed it down in front of the mirror of the vanity before Sarah. The crystal transformed, this time into a large slice of cake with berries baked in between the layers. A silver fork lay beside the cake slice. “I understand that is traditional in your world to celebrate years since your birth with cake.”_

_Sarah picked up the fork to start to eat the cake._

_“Yes. It is pretty common.” She answered him._

_For Jareth’s birthdays, she had seen that it seemed to be typical tradition, at least for goblins, to celebrate anything of importance with their specialty of worm pie. But she had found more often then not, the pie was thrown between goblins than actually eaten._

_She took a bite of the cake. It was delicious. Jareth could tell she enjoyed it from her expressions._

_“Happy birthday, Sarah.”_

_“Thank you. Jareth, you should know that I love you and only you.” She told him._

_Those were the only words that he needed to hear._


	10. The Battle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A new chapter is finally here! 
> 
> Please enjoy and comment.
> 
> More to come soon.

Sarah’s head ached as though her mind had been through something intense. Perhaps she could get some medicine to help with that. It would be a simple trip to the medicine cabinet in the bathroom down the hallway. 

At least it should have been. But when she opened her eyes, she realized that she was not at home. She was not laying in her cozy bed, dreaming her fantasies. Instead, Sarah found herself in a sea of junk, the trash seeming to stretch on for miles. Where was she and what was she doing here? She needed to get home, wherever home was.

Suddenly, she felt a small weight in her hand. She looked over to see a peach, rotting, a bug crawling out of it. Disgusted, she threw the peach away. Normally, she wouldn’t have mind peaches. Since she was small, it had been her favorite fruit. No one quite knew where her appetite for them had come from, but every time she ate one, she felt somehow happy, a sensation of peace. It was something no other fruit could give her.

She stood up, trying to get her bearings, only to hear a complaint. She looked down to see a strange creature, a goblin covered in junk. The bitter goblin lead her to a door of a place that had been carved into the junk. When she entered, she found herself back in her bedroom. She was home. Yet something was not right.  
\-----  
Jareth watched the teenager, a crystal ball hovering in front of him. Sarah had found herself in a replica of her bedroom of the modern times she now lived in. He did not build the replica, so he could only suppose that the labyrinth was responding to her, just as it had done when she had been his queen in the past. He wouldn’t tamper with this. His love had already been through enough and her mind needed to heal. Time was what he needed. Just a little more and then they would be…

They couldn’t be. Not now. Not when she was still so young. But he was losing himself in the game. After countless years alone, broken hearted, and in mourning, he had been given a glimmer of hope. He would not let it get away from him. 

In time, she would remember and come to love him again. She would become an adult once more and then they would marry. They could have their happily ever after again. Besides, she had made the wish. She had moved things ahead of schedule. Didn’t she want this?  
\-----  
_Sarah sighed, looking out of the window of her room. She was acting like a lovesick puppy, focused on the tree outside of her window, hoping to see a barn owl on its branches. She had become familiar with her fiancé’s avian form. She knew that at times, he would disguise himself in that form to avoid anyone but her finding him._

_She turned her gaze away from the window, seeing only an empty tree. She knew that she shouldn’t have come back, that there would be such a ruckus upon her return. It was true that she should have told her father and step mother before disappearing from her eighteenth birthday ball with Jareth. But she had been so caught up in the moment and with what she wanted to do to celebrate her birthday, that speaking to her parents had been the last thing on her mind. Of course, she also supposed staying a fortnight in Jareth’s kingdom had been more of the cause for their anger. How was she to know that she had been gone that long? Time moved differently in the Underground._

_Eighteen years old and she was being treated like a child instead of the adult she now was. What she wouldn’t give to be in the labyrinth once more and back in Jareth’s arms. He always treated her as his equal. He loved her. None of the other suitors who had taken an interest in her after her betrothal to Jareth lover her. If she was good enough for a Goblin King, then surely she was good enough for them._

_Her betrothal to Jareth was not a bargain based on meaningless things like beauty and money. What no one knew was that the Goblin King had fallen in love with the young woman and she too had fallen in love with him. Their marriage would be built on love and caring, something very rare in both of their worlds._

_There was a knock on her door and she heard one of the father’s servants murmur something about her seeing her father for tea and to wear something nice as they had a guest. Sarah knew who this guest would be, another suitor._

_She listened as the servant walked away from her door, having delivered the message. Sarah turned to the mirror at her vanity when the servant was gone. She needed to get away from this horrible place. She needed to be with him._

_Sarah touched her hand to the mirror._

_“Jareth.” She called to him. “I need you.”_  
\-----  
“Your Highness! Your Highness!”

Jareth looked down at the goblin that had called to him, breaking him from his thoughts, conjuring up ways to keep Sarah here to be with him once more. She had come back to him and he would not let her go, even if she was young. It would break him to lose her again.

The goblin, despite his armor, appeared to be absolutely terrified. Then again, the goblins hadn’t fought against an actual enemy in ages, only fighting pointless battles among themselves that usually ended in them being confused and wondering why they had been fighting in the first place. Sarah had always known what to do in these types of situations. His queen had been loved and adored by his people. And now that she had come back, she would be again.

The goblin before him was panicking about the reborn queen who had managed to remember where she was and what she was doing here. It wasn’t about Jareth as her husband in another life. It was about Toby. After going through the labyrinth, she seemed to remember nothing, or very little of her past life, of her life with him.

Jareth was not happy about this at all. Even if he was playing her villain in this story, didn’t he have the right to a happy ending? He wasn’t truly the villain. He had only been made into one, a way to please the humans of the Aboveground. But besides that, the last thing that Jareth wanted to do was to fight Sarah. It was not right. She had been his wife in the past. She was his one and only love. 

Time. He needed time for it was short, the minutes running low. If he could prevent her from reaching the castle then he would win and have her by his side once more and he wouldn’t have to face her.  
“Call out the guard!” He demanded. They had to move. Jareth placed Toby in one of his goblin’s arms, giving him the direct command to hide the baby. 

Chaos ensued as he saw the goblins around him scuttle and run to their places.  
\-----  
_“What are they doing?” Sarah asked. The Goblin Queen watched the goblins on the grounds of her husband’s castle engaging in some kind of exercise. She wasn’t quite sure about the point of the exercise. All she could tell was that involved a lot of shouting and falling._

_“They’re supposed training.” Jareth told her. She could sense anger in his voice and she knew all too clearly that the goblins were not doing as he wanted them to. “I should send them all to the Bog of Eternal Stench. My army is a joke.”_

_He was in the process of summoning of a crystal ball to throw down at his army when he felt Sarah’s hand grab his._

_“Don’t. Please, Jareth.” His wife begged him._

_He made a grunt and put his hand into a fist, ceasing his spell. He turned away from her and the window from which they had been looking out of._

_“I need them ready. Coddling them will do nothing.” He hissed._

_“Who are you planning to fight?” Sarah asked. “Are you seeking to declare war? And for what?”_

_Jareth turned to look back at her._

_“No. It’s just… Sarah, I promised I would protect you and the baby. How can I do that if my army can’t do anything?” He felt frustrated and ashamed._

_She got up from her seat by the window. She moved to stand beside him, resting her hand on his back._

_“I can protect myself and the baby with you. We are equals in this, now and forever. You promised.” She said. “My will is as strong as yours. You know this. When the baby comes, you and I both know that they will be loved and protected. Don’t worry about your army.”_

_Before he could reply, she moved her hand from his back. Sarah took Jareth’s hand in hers and moved it to rest on her slightly swollen belly._

_“Come, my love. Why don’t you sing to the baby? I’m sure they would love to hear another lullaby.” She suggested._

_She felt his hand relax and heard the soft hums of beginning notes of one of her husband’s songs._  
\-----  
The battle was not going as planned. Jareth should have expected that. Besides his army being pathetic, Sarah had always bent his plans to her own will. He gazed over at a nearby clock. The hand was very close to the thirteenth hour, but he did not have the time to be relieved. The girl was coming closer to his castle and she would burst in at any moment. He would have to face her, alone. That was how it was meant to be done.

He walked towards the part of his castle he knew that she would head to after she entered, the Escher room. He would have to face her, no matter what.


	11. Thirteen O'Clock

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go. Please enjoy and comment. As always, thanks for the kudos.

Jareth knew without looking in to a crystal ball that she had made it past his army and into his castle. He could hear her voice coming in from the throne room. He stood, leaning against a wall for a moment. They would face each other alone. That was how it was meant to be, but that didn’t mean that he wanted to face her. Sarah had been his wife and queen and he hoped that now that she had come back to him, she would be again. It would seem that his dream was not to be. Perhaps he was being a fool, blinded by his love, but he would not give up, even if he was pulling on a thread that threatened to break at any moment.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the baby that she had wished away crawling. In another life time Toby had been his brother-in-law. It was true that his view had been warped at first about the boy because of Sarah. The baby had become a source of pain for his wife, inflicted upon her by her over protective step mother. While Lady Irene had done some good for her step daughter, hoping and letting her find true love, she had also abused Sarah, using the young woman as a babysitting service for her pride and joy instead of putting her faith in the servants.

Jareth had on multiple occasions offered his help to Sarah. He could have turned Toby into a goblin so that his beloved could be free, but Sarah had refused him, wishing to work through her problems herself. Of course, that didn’t mean she didn’t coming running into his arms. She had loved him and was grateful for his support. She didn’t want him to turn her baby half brother into a goblin. She only wanted Jareth’s love, which he happily gave to her.

He heard footsteps, which broke him from his thoughts. He let out a breath to calm himself. It was up to him to keep her occupied, to keep her here with him. Only a few more minutes to go and then his dreams could finally come true after so many years.  
\-----  
_Jareth felt her grip on his hand tightened. Sarah was afraid to let him go, not wishing to fall. The Goblin King smiled and pulled his newly wed wife close to him._

_“It’s alright. I got you, now and forever, love.” He told her before pressing his lips to hers._

_Sarah felt a calming sensation press through her. She closed her eyes and returned Jareth’s kiss. It was a good distraction, something to help her get over the fact that they were standing upside down in the Escher room. While Jareth had the ability to walk upside down and she had seen it in practice before, Sarah was new to it. Walking upside down, much less sharing a kiss while dangling with the ground beneath her was not exactly a common experience in the Aboveground. Then again, she would have this along with many new experiences in the Underground now that she had married Jareth._

_The kiss broke after a minute._

_“Just keep holding my hand and don’t look down. You’ll become a natural soon enough.” He told her. He took a step away from her, still holding her hand. He began to walk, backwards, keeping his eyes on her._

_She let out a breath and began to walk, taking one step at a time. When they reached the end of the upside down walk way, Sarah took a daring step forward toward her husband. Jareth let go of her hand so that he could catch her in his arms. He held her close._

_“See? A natural.” Jareth said, smiling at her. She smiled back at him before reaching for a second upside down kiss._  
\-----  
“I can live within you.,.” 

Sarah didn’t care about Jareth. It was hard for him, watching her chase after the baby, instead of remembering him and what they had shared long ago. Even if the minutes ran out and he won, what good would it do? Would she truly remember him in time or was she content to live her new life without him? No. He couldn’t let that happen. He couldn’t let her leave him. There were spells that could be used, potions he could have her devour to recall their past. He could not fail.

The girl took a leap and fell down to his broken castle. This was it, then. The final battle and the end of the story he had written from the tales told by the idiots in the Aboveground, who had wished to tarnish their love out of fear.

The Goblin King came before her from under an archway, wearing an outfit of white and gray. His cape seemed to mimic his avian form. He must have made an impression on her for he could see for a fleeting bit of fear in the teenager’s eyes. He could have appeared more menacing as he had in the story, carrying a grand weapon. But their reality was very different from the fairy tale.

“Give me the child.” Sarah said to him, echoing the scene from the story. The fear was gone from her eyes. Indeed, she seemed to stand taller than when he had first appeared before her in Toby’s nursery. His queen’s spirit was deep and strong.

There was only a few more minutes until the clock stroke thirteen and then this game would be over and she would be his, along with the baby.

He came towards her, circling her like a hawk. He had been good to her, for while he had the power to be cruel towards her, he hadn’t been. Not to her. Anyone else, he would have thrown into the Bog of Eternal Stench or have them endure great horrors. Sarah needed to realize how generous he was being, how he was not her villain, but could be someone else. Someone important to her.

She would not listen, continuing to stand her ground, trying to remember how the scene was supposed to play out, even if it had been tweaked. 

He tried to stop her, offering her her dreams, her desires. It was very little he asked for. Was it too much to want her back, for her to be by his side now and forever? However, she was not wrong. Her will was as strong as his. It always had been. They had been equals and they could be again if only…

“Kingdom as great. Damn! I can never remember that line.” Sarah said, angry at herself. 

That line, that tricky line. It was the words he had written for her. The very key to unlocking the certain power that he had given her without knowing, the power that she and only she could defeat him.

“Just fear me. Love me. Do as I say and I will be your slave.” It was a beg, a plea deep down. He could not lose her. Not after everything.

It took her a moment before she looked at him. The seconds were ticking down. It was tense for both of them and Jareth’s heart was pounding.

“You have no power over me!” The words hit him hard and he felt an intense pain. 

The clock struck thirteen. Sarah Williams had defeated the Goblin King.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No. It's not over yet! More is on the way, so keep watching!


	12. The Return

The reborn Goblin Queen had refused the Goblin King, had said the words to defeat him. Jareth lay in his bed, alone once again, haunted by the battle he had had with Sarah, tormented knowing that she was alive and not by his side. It hurt him to the very core and he felt so sick and weak. 

The last time he had been this weak was when Sarah had been killed, taken before her time. He hadn’t wanted to go on. What was the point? He was nothing without his queen. But he had realized that a love as strong as theirs would go on, that she would come back to him. Only she didn’t. She didn’t return to him, wishing no doubt to have nothing to do with him for the rest of her life now that she had rescued Toby.

He lay there, his heart broken, believing that he would never have what he once did.  
\-----  
“This is the place, huh?” Sarah asked, gazing at the ruins of the old manor before her. 

The place must have been several hundred years old. In parts, moss and vines grew over the ruins, giving it a more ancient look. She knew that the ruins would be perfect for the short film that her friend was making, with Sarah herself staring as the main character. Still, there was something strange about this place. Something familiar somehow.

“Yeah.” Her friend and director of the film said, digging out her phone to use to take photographs of the place. “I got permission from the historical society to use it for a film location. You know there’s a local legend about this place. Going to see if I can hint to it in my film.”

“A local legend?” Sarah repeated, looking away from the ruins to her friend, who was starting to take a series of photographs.

“They say that a queen died here. Her husband, the king of an underworld, slaughtered her killers.” Her friend elaborated. “Of course, the queen was also supposedly kidnapped and bewitched by the king, making her bend to his will. The only way to free her was by killing her. But the king could not be defeated. Her body rests deep in his kingdom, far from her home. It is said that anyone who is here after dark becomes his next victim to be slaughtered in revenge for his wife’s death. Quite a tragic tale, don’t you think?”

Sarah felt sick in the pit of her stomach.

“That’s horrible.” She managed to say after swallowing a feeling vomit down. 

Her friend looked up at her. 

“Are you okay?” Sarah looked pale, as if all the color had been flushed out of her.

“I’m fine.” The actress protested. “I just…I think I’m going to take a look around and find somewhere to sit for a bit.”

The director nodded, telling Sarah to be careful.

The brunette walked, looking out for where she was going as she stepped over some ruins. Somehow, she could picture everything perfectly in her mind, everything down to the last detail of how the manor looked in its glory days.

She paused when she saw a tree. The tree was large and old with thick branches. She could imagine a barn owl resting on its branches. A barn owl. She hadn’t seen one since that night, the night that she had wished away Toby and defeated the Goblin King in his labyrinth. It had been ten years since then and she had grown up, the magic lost in the story.

Sarah moved towards the tree and rested a hand on the bark of the trunk. The tree had seen much. But despite whatever horrors it had seen, it stood there, it’s leaves swaying peacefully in the light summer wind.

She felt something on her hand. It was sticky like sap. She pulled her hand away from the tree and saw red on the palm of her hand, thick red like blood. Iron and fire was in the air. 

_A queen died here. The king of an underworld slaughtered her killers._

The words echoed through her, reverberating across it. Blood. There had been so much blood. Sarah felt short of breath, her hand reaching to clutch her belly, her belly where she had…

Her thoughts went to someone she knew, someone she had loved, the fae she had defeated. Memories flooded into her mind, a life time she had had. The past, their past. She need _him_.

In a moment of sickness, lost in the harsh memories, her lips moved to speak the words: “I wish that the goblins would come and take me away, right now.”

She fell limp against the tree, the world turning into blood before she closed her eyes.

_But down in the underground you'll find someone true._  
\-----  
It was dark and cold, wherever she was now, but what she was resting her hand on was warm. It was only a moment later that she realized her hand was clutching her belly, as if by instinct to protect it.

“You’ve returned.” A familiar voice said. 

“Jareth.” She spoke his name, the name of the one she had loved and defeated.

She saw a small flame in the darkness which moved into a candle, lighting up where she now found herself. Standing before her was the Goblin King. He appeared a bit thinner than she remembered him and older with a few streaks of silver mixed in with his golden hair. He looked harsh, vicious even in an outfit of deep black, the collar of his cape cut into a sharp shape.

She moved her hand off of her belly. She had no baby in her womb to protect. 

Jareth watched her silently, keeping away from her. Even seeing her like this, the very vision of herself before she had been killed, hurt him. If it hadn’t been for her wish, he wouldn’t be standing here before her.

“Do you actually remember me or am I still your villain, Sarah?” He asked. He was bitter about her defeating him. She could see that. And it seemed that after a decade, he hadn’t completely healed.

He wanted proof, to not have his dreams squashed again. Sarah hadn’t meant to hurt him, but she had been young and didn’t remember him then. But now was a different story.

She let out a breath. Telling him the facts of who he was to her, who he had been to her in her past life, who he could be to her again would not do. She knew that.

“I know you.” Sarah stood up from her spot, walking towards him. Jareth backed away from her, hitting the stone wall. He seemed small and weak. Had she wounded him that badly? When she reached him, she held out a gentle hand to caress his face, a gesture of affection she had done many times in her past life by his side. “I won’t hurt you. Imagine someone as powerful as you being afraid.”

Jareth said nothing, merely watching and listening to her.

“I wanted my freedom. You knew that and gave it to me. You gave me my dreams, my desires. I’m sorry I couldn’t hold on. I’m sorry I left you too soon. I’m sorry I defeated you.” She continued. “Jareth, please, forgive me.”

Her touch was so familiar and he found himself unable to resist her, his broken heart finally piecing back together. He reached for her hand that caressed his face, placing his hand over hers.

“Stay.” He begged her. He needed her. Only she could save and heal him, fix her mistake and wipe away the years of sadness and bitterness. 

“Forever.” She answered him, offering him a soft smile. 

The couple disappeared in a cloud of glitter, the king and his queen together again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still not over! I promise!


	13. The Queen's Duties

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy. Please comment.

“But what no one knew was that the King of the Goblins had fallen in love with the girl and he had given her certain powers.” Sarah read out loud from the book in her hand, her eyes reading Jareth’s hand writing with ease. This was the original copy of the story, their story, the one that the Goblin King had written as a way to call his queen back to him. 

She paused in the story, looking up from the pages to her king. Jareth was laying in the bed, his strength returning to him. Her very presence seemed to help heal him. She carefully put the book down on a nearby bedside table before moving to place her hand on his forehead, gently moving a few stray blonde hairs out of her lover’s face. 

It had been nearly a month since she had returned, the memories of the past clear in her mind. She remembered who she was and what they had been so long ago, what they could be again. Sarah noticed that with each passing day Jareth’s condition improved. The silver had disappeared from his hair and he was regaining his lost weight and strength.

“Did she love him too, I wonder?” Jareth spoke, his voice soft, a tone he had only ever spoken to Sarah in.

“She did. She still does. Now and forever.” Sarah moved her hand away from his face, looking down at him fondly.

He reached for her hand. She slid it into his grasp when she realized what he was grasping for.

“Be mine once again and you can have everything that you want, your dreams, your desires, your freedom.” His gloved hand was warm, his hold on her strong. 

“I am yours, my love.” She reassured him before bending down over him to press a kiss to his forehead. “Sleep. You need your rest.”

He looked at her for a moment before closing his eyes and settling into sleep. Sarah had kept track of his sleep schedule, having learned quickly that he would become distressed if he woke up without her by his side, afraid of losing her, afraid that this was all a dream and he was grasping at grains of sands of an illusion.

When she was certain he was asleep, she managed to get her hand out of his hold. The Goblin Queen moved out of the seat she had placed by the bed to look out at the view from the window of the royal chambers. 

She could see the Goblin City with the labyrinth beyond that seemed to stretch on for miles. Sarah never knew exactly how large Jareth’s kingdom was, but she had been quick to learn that the Goblin kingdom was one of, if not, the largest and most powerful kingdoms in the Underground. 

When she had been a girl in the Aboveground, her world had felt so small. Most of the places she had only read about in books. Indeed, she had been groomed to believe that one day when she married, she would be spirited away to another small world, another prison, that belonged to her husband. But Jareth had never shackled her, never tied her down. She chose him and to live in his world willingly. And while, she may not have completely agreed with his behavior towards her when he had found her in her new life as a teenager, she understood his motives behind his actions. After so many years, he had her by his side again. He would be reluctant to give her up. Would Sarah have acted the same if their roles had been reversed, she wondered?

_A queen was killed, the only way for her to be free of the enchantment a king of an underworld had placed on her. The king, devastated by her murder, slaughtered her killers._

Sarah hadn’t yet discussed these words, the story with Jareth yet. It would be a serious discussion that would require a lot of strength on both their parts. It was not yet time for her to bring it up to Jareth when he was still so weak. But soon would be the time. Very soon, she suspected.

She looked down in the window and could see several goblins running about, being as silly and ridiculous as they always were. She sighed and moved to exit the royal chambers, for although she tended to Jareth, she had always assumed duties as the Goblin Queen in Jareth’s stead while the Goblin King healed. 

She made her way to the throne room, which she had by great fortune, managed to have cleaned up the goblins. The subjects of the labyrinth seemed to adore Sarah as their queen. She wasn’t as quick to anger or annoy as the king and she never threatened to send anyone to the Bog of Eternal Stench. 

Once in the throne room, she moved to sit on Jareth’s throne. It took her a moment to adjust herself to sit comfortably in it. When she was settled, she nodded at the large pair of guards posted at the front doors of the castle to open the doors. Even if her subjects didn’t recognize her, they would understand that she was the one in charge of them from the pendant around her neck. It was the queen’s pendant that Jareth had created for her in the past.

As soon as the doors opened, a goblin came in. The goblin was medium sized with small hands. He was not one meant for war or causing chaos with his fellows. No. He was a scholarly type and appeared to be one of the few goblins of the Underground with a brain. He had a resemblance to an elderly goblin she had met in the past, Jareth’s keeper, when the king had been young, Pogo. But after all these years, Pogo was gone.

“Your Majesty.” The scholar said, doing a polite bow before Sarah.

“Sarah.” She corrected him. “I am not married to His Highness just yet.” In this life, while the memories were there, she was not Jareth’s wife yet. But they would marry soon and perhaps have the child that they had both wanted.

“My lady.” The goblin fixed his mistake. “The new council wishes to meet with the king. Here is the message.” 

He handed her a rolled up piece of parchment. Sarah unrolled it and did her best to try and decipher it. The language was one she had been learning before her premature death, one of several common tongues of the Underground. She carefully rolled the note back up.

“I will ensure that the king gets it.” She told him. “But do you forgive me ummm…” She looked at him for a name.

“Bogo.” 

“Yes, Bogo. Can you tell me what happened to the old council?” 

If there was a new council, what had happened to the one the Underground had before? Sarah had known of them. Jareth had complained to her about them, mostly of how they disapproved of the union between him and her.

Bogo looked at her, surprised that she would ask that, but also serious about what had happened to them.

“They all died, with the king as the only survivor. Didn’t he tell you, my lady?” Bogo asked.

“No. No he did not. It would seem that I have much to discuss with my betrothed.” Her voice was icy. 

What had Jareth done when she had been dead? What secrets was he keeping from her?


End file.
